Parallax
by wisegirlgeek
Summary: If you want romance and happily-ever-afters and a regular, average life I'm not for you. But if you want ceremonies in the dead of night and to take over the world and kill for the fun of it because its power and power and power and something you've never had then I'm all yours. Thaluke (Thalia x Luke). AU. No, I'm not kidding. Seriously AU. You have been warned.
1. the time we fell

_I_

The fighting goes on, on and on and on and on. He thrusts and she parries, back and forth.

She doesn't realize what he's trying to do till it's much too late.

Suddenly they hear the chime of the bell tower, and somewhere inside of her Thalia counts each toll.

 _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve . . ._

 _Oh no._

He smirks, that evil smirk of his which hasn't changed one bit.

"Happy sixteenth birthday, Thalia Grace."

* * *

 _II_

 _A half-blood of the eldest dogs (because that's what they are)_

 _Fall reach sixteen against all odds (till the ground)_

 _And see the world in lessened sleep (who rests when there are worlds to take over?)_

 _The hero's soul, cursed blade shall tear (not reap, torn things can be repaired)_

 _A lingering choice shall end his days (will he ever forget?)_

 _Olympus to serve or raze (either way, they'll win)_

* * *

 _III_

"Choose."

He trips.

She trips.

They fall.

In more ways than one.

* * *

 _IV_

It's just her goddamned lack of luck which causes her to end up pinned down under him when they touch the ground unharmed by the power flowing around them.

The corner of his mouth twitches. "You done yet?"

The tone of his voice doesn't match the sword ready to cut through her neck, nor the look on his face. He looks powerful — standing above her like he owns everything around him. It's confidence, she realizes. He's a strange son of Hermes. Usually, they prefer to do everything from behind the scenes; but he's the outlier who goes up on the stage and screams.

Almost like he can hear what she's thinking, his grip tightens and she gasps. There is no blood arising from the gap in her skin, but she can feel the dams wanting to break. "Are you really going to hold onto them for this long?"

Her breathes almost stop as his mouth stops millimeters away from her ear and whispers. "You don't get it, do you? I just want you. You and you and you until the whole world breaks apart with the knife we'll hold together. It can all stop, you know. All you have to do is tell me yes. Stay with me, and this war and all these deaths can just end."

She can't see the top of the mountain, but she knows that up there Zoë Nightshade is lying broken and Percy Jackson is falling apart from the weight of the sky and that Annabeth is lying exhausted between them.

"Annabeth?" she manages to croak.

"Let her choose her loyalties."

She looks up at his eyes.

* * *

 _V_

"Yes."

(if he's going to drown the world she isn't going down with the rest of her ship; they're the Titanic but she's already seen the glacier with it's icy veneer)

* * *

 _VI_

He smiles and pulls her to her lips to his bruisingly before pulling away and grinning even more.

"Don't worry."

Ice. "This won't hurt a bit."

* * *

 _VII_

It all turns black.

* * *

 _VIII_

"Have you really changed?"

When she wakes up he's right in front of her. She's lying on a couch, in a dark dark dark room and all she can really see is his grey face, ashen with the lack of light.

"Did I say anything about changing?"

"Yes."

He mock thinks. "Oh, yes I did. But it was you who has to change."

"What do you want from me?" he's a monster. Where's the boy she fought monsters with? The one who used to laugh with her? The one who used to make mistakes?

He bends in. "That boy is gone. Now, I'm here. Now, do you want to get out and do your job?"

"And what's that?"

"Be my human anchor," he says. For a minute, she can almost see the old Luke again in his eyes. "please."

* * *

 _IX_

Being a human anchor apparently means _always_ being with him. Thalia has stayed at his side every hour of the day, whether through strategy meetings or in buildings, watching him as he destroys both mortal and mythological places with weapons made of half-steel half-Celestial Bronze.

Both monsters and people look at her strangely. It isn't as if she's wearing something odd — all that she's wearing is a sweatshirt and and pair of torn jeans (they're her old clothes, the ones from the run. She still fits into them and for some reason he had kept them). It isn't as if she's the only girl either. She really doesn't know what all the whispers are until she hears two telekhines talking behind a pillar. "What's the master doing with a lady?"

She listens a bit more into some other conversations and starts to realize that's what she is now — the lady, the girl-in-charge.

For some reason, she kind of likes it.

* * *

 _X_

When she comes across him he's sitting in a damp dark room in front of a fountain and she can just barely hear the end of an Iris Message.

" _I want Jackson locked away. And then we'll kill him"_

She's surprisingly calm and raises an eyebrow. He turns to look at her coolly.

"What do you think?" it's a genuine question — he wants to know what she thinks.

So she sighs. "I never really liked him anyways. But one thing — I want to talk to him. Before you kill him."

"Deal."

* * *

 _XI  
-_

Olympus to preserve or raze

 _(they're gonna plow the earth till there's nothing left but them)_

* * *

 **This is a seriously messed up fic. Like, seriously. Updates weekly, hopefully. Maybe**

 **Basically — what would have happened if Thalia had chosen to join Luke at the end of the Titan's Curse? I know this is a freaky layout and everything. Sorry. So . . . yeah.**

 **The things in the summary will all happen eventually. Happy Thaluke reading (BTW, this was all based off Tomione fics from HP. They're inspirational. And dark :))**

 **-WGG**


	2. losing my soul

_XII_

"Thalia," he says, locked in his cell. The way there is slippery and slimy and putrid and there is some kind of viscid liquid on the ground and she holds her nose and tries not to trip.

There is no malice in his voice — Perseus Jackson is simply stating a fact. From the slightly hurt look on his face, covered in grime as it is, she can tell that he know why she's here. They don't say anything for a minute, just stare at each other. There are no words to be said.

"At least I'll die a hero," he ends up whispering through the bars.

She almost breaks into tears. She loves him, her annoying annoying cousin — but he's white and she's turning black, so there's no way they'll mix and fit again.

"Oh, Percy," she says. "That's what I thought. That's what I did. It didn't end up that way."

He doesn't cry, but his eyeballs are slightly watering. A growl sounds above her and she almost jumps back in shock, reminded that they are not alone. "I have to—"

"Thalia," he whispers, "kill me, please. But don't do the same to your soul."

The son of the sea catches a small nod as she whisks herself out of the room.

* * *

 _XIII_

"Annabeth," she brings up the undisturbed topic when he walks into the room.

He looks at her, curiosity and concern clouding his vision. "Do you want to know?"

"Yes," she murmurs, and she watches the contours of his face irregularly contract as his eyes fill with tears.

"Coma," she can barely hear. It's hard to comprehend at first but then all of a sudden there's a large stone in her throat and she's sinking to the floor. She doesn't cry, though — he catches her in his arms and does enough for the both of them.

"H — how long?" she isn't really sure if she'll survive that, though.

He waits for a moment which feels like an eternity as they lay down on the floor before speaking. "Probably . . . they don't know."

He says the last part in a rush as if he doesn't want her to hear. Her body falls even more into itself as she lays there, a hazy glaze covering her eyes as she thinks about her never-going-to-be-complete family.

He hears what she's thinking — it seems like he always does.

"Don't worry," he says, "you still have me."

She was undecided if that was a good or bad thing.

* * *

 _XIV_

She's lost but for some reason she's not alone.

 **oh darling, this is who you are ((and isn't it scary?))**

* * *

 _XV_

A knock sounds at the door, and even though neither of them invites the being behind the wooden frame inside they come in anyways. A telekhine wearing large glasses and holding a clipboard stalks into the room.

"Room thirty-three," she cries. "I will be . . . "

Her voice drowns off as she realizes who she has walked in on.

"Oh," she backs off as Luke slowly gets up with Thalia in his arms, places her on the bed, and draws out his sword.

"Please . . . please don't hurt me!" but as she is torn out of a corporeal being and into Tartarus, Thalia looks on in interest.

"How?"

"I have a reputation to uphold."

"I understand. I just wish monsters were less messy."

* * *

 _XVI_

Percy Jackson is beheaded in front of the whole army. She pulls on her mask when she goes and sees the light leave his eyes — she doesn't regret her choice, but it's a due to her family to at least see him die. Due to Annabeth, who's still lying in an infirmary somewhere barely breathing.

So he walks up to her, runs away from his chains. And he is granted an audience.

There is only one question that leaves his lips. "Annabeth?"

She remembers the last time anybody uttered that word and decides that she will not let him go to Hell with a guilty conscience. "She's fine."

He dies with a smile upon his lips.

* * *

 _XVII_

 **percy baby, aren't you glad that you don't have to see it end?**

She's frightened, and so when she goes back to the room she curls up in the bed and cries until he comes to get her.

* * *

 _XVIII_

"Will you come with me?" he asks.

"To watch you . . . give a speech. To a bunch of demigods."

"Why not? You can sit in the stands and cheer for me."

"Are you being sexist?"

"What?"

"I'm not some throwaway toy."

And then the dark dark dark one is back. "No. But you are a toy. Mine."

* * *

 _XIX_

She ends up going to the speech anyway — and there are too many people who she recognizes in the crowd. Yes, she didn't spend much time in Camp Half-Blood, but she was a fast learner.

Ethan — Nakamura? Yes, that was him . . . a son of Nemesis who had his hand slung around a daughter of Aphrodite who still hadn't grown into her beauty — Lacy?

Annabeth's older brother Malcolm was talking to Silena Beauregard, who looked heartbroken. Another girl named Nyssa was discussing something with Kayla while the Stoll twins were joking around in a corner.

She walked in with him and then was left in the front row of chairs as he sat down and then the world and the room went dark and he started talking and she was kinda swept away by the magic that was the words escaping his mouth.

* * *

 _XX_

"How did I do?" he peels off his formal clothing when he comes into the room and she just sits and stares at his face in awe. "What?"

"That . . . that was amazing," she whispers throatily.

"But you don't want to talk about my speech, do you?" he asks slyly.

"No," and it barely comes out. "I don't."

* * *

 _XXI_

 _ **sweetie**_

 _ **baby**_

 _ **did i choose wrong?**_

 _ **i think i might have chosen wrong**_

 _ **well, it's too late now,**_

 _ **isn't it?**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **no**_

 _ **i think i chose bad**_

 _ **bad bad bad**_

 _ **evil evil evil**_

 _ **but is evil wrong?**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **darling, it's all a matter of perspective**_

* * *

 _XXII_

 _My ghost, where'd you go?_

 _I can't find you in the body sleeping next to me_

 _My ghost, where'd you go?_

 _What happened to the soul that you used to be?_

 _-Halsey_

* * *

 **I said I would have a chapter out in a week. It's been two. Sorry. I suck at writing multi-chapter fics with a steady updating schedule. This is actually my first one.**

 **I seriously ship Ethan N./Lacy. I also made the ship up, completely, so besides one of my friends who I have convinced to ship it, it's my thing. Yay! I'm an original Ethan N./Lacy shipper! LOL.**

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAZEL! I've no idea if the Romans will make an appearance in this fic.**

 **Reviews are golden.**

 **-WGG, or Dee**


	3. stealing my secrets

_XXIII_

He runs into the room, holding Backbiter loosely and his sword swings back and forth, a pendulum, one with the wind. She steps back into the corner of the place to avoid being decapitated by its sharp blade. "Do you need help with anything?"

Her words are cold and refined, no emotion in-between the letters — he's throwing clothes out of drawers unceremoniously and she finds no reason to be pleased with him as she'll be the one cleaning up the mess. He doesn't look up as he says, "I can't find my extra knives."

She sighs. "They're in the bathroom. You were too lazy to take them out yesterday when you came back."

"Oh, right," he sheepishly smiles as he walks into the bathroom to grab the offending weapons.

"Don't 'oh, right' me!" she snaps as he comes back into the room. "Look at the mess I'm going to have to pick up now!"

He bends down and kisses her cheek. "I have a different proposition. How about you come with me to the rebellion in Boston? I can send somebody in for the mess."

It's scary how comfortable she is with him now.

* * *

 _XXIV_

" _Look,"_ she hisses, "after everything that you've taken away, you don't get to rule me. Be happy with the world."

* * *

 _XXV_

The next time she visits that prison the only visible change is Percy. The muck on the floor is just as — if not more — disgusting, and the people all look void, the same.

"Thalia?" a hoarse whisper sounds into the dark and she turns towards it, keenly listening. It takes her a minute to realize who it is.

"Grover!" she happily says his name but cannot smile. _Grover_ is in prison? Does Luke even have a heart?

 _Yes,_ she realizes, _and he's given it to me._

"I'll get you out," her voice breaks, "I promise."

"No," he tells her, "I will die how I must."

Why is everybody except for her so brave?

* * *

 _XXVI_

 _Little do you know that I've always been yours_

 _Our love wasn't gone, just washed out to shore_

 _You have to know how to swim to get it back_

 _Little do you know that you're right on track_

 _-Dee_

* * *

 _XXVII_

He's in a bad mood when he joins her for dinner that day. She's been let out of the room more and more recently, seeing the world as his black black chessboard.

"Look at me," he orders.

"No," she replies. She is not a soldier, obeying her master's every word — instead she is free, free free free and _nobody_ will stop her, least of all him.

"Don't make me —"

" _No."_

He grabs her face harshly, and she winces. His hand shakes a little at that but doesn't let go and she knows, knows for certain now that he can never love her as much as he loves power.

The servants are waved away with a flick of his fingers and his lips bend down to her ear. "Oh, _sweetheart,_ there is no choice. _Look at me."_

When she makes no movement to indicate eye contact he levels her head until blue bright eyes meet.

 _(One pair is much lighter than the other)_

Suddenly, he's in her head.

He pushes through memories, sifting through her thoughts and she shivers. She's never felt so _bare_ before — it's more intimate than anything else she's ever experienced.

Luke watches her memories. They're categorized into 'good' and 'bad' (her mind is a neat little place), and he ignores most of them. That is, except for the ones with him in them . . .

It doesn't matter. He keeps going until he reaches her secrets.

She realizes.

"Please . . . please don't," she's fallen to pleading, begging him . . .

He enters anyways.

* * *

 _XXVIII_

 _Jason?_

 _Her . . . brother?_

* * *

 _XXIX_

Thalia faints.

* * *

 _XXX_

"I'm sorry," he pleads her, begs her to forgive him. He never says 'I'm sorry'.

She looks away.

* * *

 _XXXI_

"That night he caged her  
Bruised and broke her . . .

Silent pain  
Then he slowly saw their nightmares were his dreams

Monster  
How should I feel?  
Creatures lie here  
Looking through the windows  
I will  
Hear their voices  
I'm a glass child  
I am May's regrets"*

- _Meg and Dia_

* * *

 _XXXII_

"Jason," he whispers to her. She's in the bed, but she's not sleeping — he can tell that much. "What happened to him?"

She is silent.

"Tell me," he repeats. "If he's alive, I can find him."

She doesn't move.

He tries more tactics to make her listen to him, but she is unresponsive. He tells himself that he _won't —_ can't — snap at her. It's not her fault that he found out about the one secret she would take to the grave.

It's her who finally snaps. "Stop, okay? Leave me alone."

"Thalia . . . I want to help."

"Don't help!" she yells, and he can almost hear her cries. "Please, please don't help me, Luke Castellan. Whenever you help me _somebody_ dies and I get hurt. _I don't want you_ to find Jason. If he was alive — and he's probably not — I would have found him by now. I don't _want_ you to find him. He deserves to be free, not a soldier or the like to your cause."

She's full out crying now, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"You took me. Don't take him, too."

* * *

 _XXXIII_

"Hell sent us the

most evil disease

and we . . .

called it 'love'"

-Conny Cernik

* * *

 _*the original song, 'Monster' by Meg and Dia, is incredibly dark. It is based on a short story written by the singers of a boy who was abused at home. The last line is supposed to say, "I am Hannah's regrets," because she is the boy's mother, but I took creative liberties and changed it to May, as in Luke's mom, for it is supposed to connect to him in this story._

 _In the original story, the boy who is abused at home grows up not knowing what love is. He does questionable things to a girl on the street and then goes home to commit suicide._

 _It is not something to take lightly. I included it in this story because I felt like the song itself (which you should definitely listen to) held a strong connection to Luke. You may see it inspiring some of my next writing, as it is a strong, heart-breaking song which holds so many meanings it is indescribable._

 _Luke is an incredibly broken character. The point of this story is to show that sometimes shattered people break others along with themselves._

* * *

 **Yup, I'm back to this! And I've decided to be incredibly dark today. Oh, well. I'm still sick, so I had enough time to put this together.**

 **I'm trying to make it clear that Thalia** _ **is**_ **standing up to Luke. Yes, he won, but she's still her own person. Hopefully she's not being too submissive, because that just isn't Thalia.**

 **Jason will show up in the next chapter. And sorry about the amount of time I'm taking, I get distracted very easily.**

 **Review if you liked it. I'm not opposed to CC.**

 **-Dee**


End file.
